


Set in Stone

by QueenAsha



Category: Arthurian Mythology & Adaptations - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-02
Updated: 2012-12-02
Packaged: 2017-11-20 02:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/580183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenAsha/pseuds/QueenAsha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Picture this: There are two women; one dressed in blue, and one in yellow. There is also a young girl in green, destined to betray. Together, they change the course of history.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Set in Stone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [holyfant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/holyfant/gifts).



> Written for Holyfant for the DW/LJ 2012 femslash ficathon. I’d like to give special thanks to Victoria, who stepped in at the very last minute after my original beta cancelled with 24 hours notice. Basic knowledge of the Arthurian legends (specifically, of Morgan le Fay) would probably enhance the enjoyment of this story, but is not required.

It is raining outside. Rowena doesn’t usually mind the rain; she enjoys sitting back with a book and loosing herself in the words and the sound of the rain. At school, however, she is not as keen, as the students seem unable to comprehend the concept of drying charms, leaving puddles all around the library. She hears the sound of chatter and running feet and realises that they are on their way up right now.

 

She sighs, bracing herself. As much as she enjoys the students wanting to study, she enjoys her alone time in the library even more.

 

The doors open and the students flood in. Most of them are dressed in blue, but there is the occasional fleck of green, yellow and even red in the crowd. Some of her fellow Ravenclaws greet her and she smiles in return, before excusing herself in search for a quieter corner to sit in. Her heels click rhythmically as she walks down the wall, peering behind the shelves of books, but everywhere seems to be full.

 

She finally reaches the end, and slips into the restricted section. It is empty, save a Slytherin third-year, and Helga Hufflepuff. The Slytherin student is bent over a book, her dark hair obscuring her features and her shoulders are shaking and—

 

Oh. She is crying. Rowena experiences a brief flash of dread. She has no idea what she has walked in on, and has little experience dealing with the emotional needs of students, least of all those students who were not of her house. She is about to leave, when Helga glances up.

 

“Rowena,” she says, her voice warm. The girl in her arms starts and looks up. Rowena almost flinches at the intensity of her icy grey stare.

 

“Professor Ravenclaw,” she greets. Her voice lacks emotion.

 

Rowena wets her lips. “Can I be of any assistance?”

 

The Slytherin looks ready to refuse, but Helga beats her too it. “Actually, yes. Miss le Fay is experiencing some unpleasant visions, and we are looking for ways to combat them…”

-

She has heard whispers of Morgan le Fay. Her awakening has been a long time coming. Much has been said of the Fay, of the great power that awaits her, of her illegitimate brother, and of her eventual betrayal. There are so many inconsistencies in these tales, so many contradictions, that Rowena isn’t sure what to believe. One thing remains clear though: Morgan le Fay is not someone she should involve herself with. Rowena knows that nothing good ever comes to witches and wizards who play tricks with fate, and Morgan’s path is nothing if not clear.

 

She also knows that she cannot refuse Helga Hufflepuff. Not when she pulls her close and begs for her help.

-

They tell no one of Morgan le Fay’s visions. They briefly consider going to Salazar, but he is to caught up in his feud with Godric to be of any use. So it is just the three of them. Rowena, Helga and Morgan.

-

Three months pass by. Rowena and Helga spend most of their time in the library, doing research. Sometimes, when no one else is around, they will move up close. The skin-to-skin contact is nice, and it fills Rowena with emotions she doesn’t quite understand. When Rowena is feeling brave, she’ll even dare to reach out and touch Helga’s hair. Sometimes, when Helga isn’t overrun with frustration or exhaustion, she will smile back at her, and give her a kiss on the cheek.

 

They never talk about it.

-

Another month passes by, and things are getting desperate. Rowena is concerned. Morgan has lost her calm, and has been caught lashing out at the other students. She even hexed a fellow Slytherin, a sixth-year named Merlin, and ended up in detention until Christmas.

 

Rowena hadn’t known, not until Helga came into her office in tears. She had not known any other way to comfort her than to take her in to her arms and let her cry. Her hands found the curls of Helga’s hair, and she stroked through it gently, in what she hoped to be comforting strokes.

 

Finally, when Helga has calmed down, she turns away and wipes her tears. Before leaving, she leans over, her lips only briefly touching Rowena’s. “Thank you.”

 

Later that evening, when they are sitting around for dinner, Rowena can still taste the salt on her lips.

-

Christmas is approaching. Most of the students will be going home for the holidays, including Morgan. For once, she seems happy. The bruises under her eyes have faded slightly, and she is smiling. Before she leaves, Rowena and Helga pull her aside and pass her a necklace. It is simple, a small, purple gemstone on a silver chain. She thanks them both, and hands them a wrapped parcel each, with strict instructions to not open them until Christmas day.

-

Hogwarts is a strange time during the holidays. Despite a few lone students remaining, the halls are empty, and Rowena even finds herself missing the students’ lively chatter. Rowena fills the emptiness by spending even more time with Helga. They usually meet in either Rowena’s office or in the library, which is probably why she feels so nervous upon knocking on the door of Helga’s personal chambers on Christmas Eve.

 

The door opens, and Helga smiles at her warmly. “Rowena, I was just coming up to see you. Come in!” She opens the door, allowing for Rowena to pass through.

 

“I thought it would be fun to start celebrations early,” Rowena explains. “And I wanted to see you.”

 

They sit on the floor. Helga has an open fireplace in her room, and they curl up in front of it, wrapped in one large, yellow blanket with the embroidery of a badger. They have a glass of wine each, and Helga has brought out a plate of fruit pies. Rowena can feel the heat of the fire, but it pales in comparison to the sensation of Helga’s arms wrapped around her body.

 

“This is nice,” she hears herself say. “I don’t remember feeling this happy in a long time.”

 

She feels Helga tense up beside her, and for a moment, she worries that she has said to much, but then Helga’s grip tightens and she finds herself on her back, with Helga’s lips on hers and their bodies pressed close.

-

Rowena wakes with a shiver. The fire has long since burned out, and Helga seems to have taken the entire blanket. She notes that she is the first to open her eyes . Dressing in silence Rowena does not wait for Helga to wake. Instead, she leaves a note, inviting Helga up to her room after the great feast.

-

“You were gone when I woke up.”

 

Rowena is startled, almost dropping her book. It is mid-afternoon, and she had spent the last five hours fidgeting with anxiety. “I left you a note,” she mutters, closing her book and setting it aside.

 

Helga smiles at her and kisses her softly. “I worried.”

 

“You shouldn’t have.”

 

Rowena gives her a hug, but when she pulls away, her expression has changed. “I actually came so that we could open these.” Her hand slips into the pocket of her robes, and she pulls out the parcel from Morgan. Rowena glances over to the table where her packet lays, waiting to be opened as well.

 

For Helga, Morgan has got an assortment of rare herbs, accompanied with a note telling her to use them exclusively for cooking, and to make sure no potions teacher got their hand on them. For Rowena, there is a book, “Vita Merlini”, a story that ends with King Arthur being rescued by a sorceress named Morgana the Fay.

-

All illusions of joy are shattered upon the first day of school, when the students once again start filling the classrooms.

 

Morgan’s seat remains absent.

-

Morgan le Fay has been missing for three days when Rowena once again finds herself holding a sobbing Helga in her arms. They have sent out people to try and find her. Morgan is not the only student to go missing. Her brother, a Gryffindor named Arthur is gone, as well as the Slytherin she’d got in trouble for hexing. Upon searching their house, they’d found signs of struggle, as well as the body of their father, Uther Pendragon.

 

As she pulls her fingers through Helga’s hair, she can’t help but feel that she hadn’t let just one person down, but two.

-

Things get better, and they get worse.

 

They get better because Helga moves in to her chambers. The Ravenclaws are to busy with their exams for gossip, and the Hufflepuffs care too much about Helga to say anything bad about her. The Slytherins and Gryffindors meanwhile, are too busy blaming each other for the loss of their respective students to talk. They are better, because they are stronger together. They are both affected by the loss of Morgan, and there is a mutual fear that if they don’t cling to each other, they might crumble.

 

Things are worse; because the pain of losing a child isn’t something you get over. Things are worse, because Helga will sometimes fall into these dark moods were all she’ll do is lock herself away and Rowena does not know how to help. Things are worse because the guilt is eating them both up from the inside out, and they fear that if they ever breathe a word of it, they will fall apart.

-

News travels slowly, but eventually, word reaches them about Morgan. It is not good. Her sister Morgause is accusing Morgan of the abduction of her son.

 

Helga doesn’t cry this time; she just sits in her room and stares.

 

Rowena feels guilty about missing the crying.

-

Eventually, things get easier. Not necessarily better, the dent Morgan made in their lives remains unhealed, but as time goes on, the focus of their lives shift to other things. The tension between Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor reaches its climax and it very nearly leads to the collapse of the school. It takes several years for things to settle down, by which time Rowena and Helga have found themselves a mutual routine.

 

Life is good, for a while.

 

Then word of a battle reaches Hogwarts. It has already taken place, and rumours run wild. There are tales of a fallen king, of a great wizard, and of a dragon. There are stories of slain knights, and of betrayal. Some people say that the king was stabbed in the back by one of his most trusted knights. Others tell tales of poison, and of trampling, and of wand duels.

 

All stories have two things in common:  
− Arthur was present at the battlefield, dressed as a king.  
− A King dressed in red was killed

 

It is here the details start to get hazy. Rowena stops listening to the gossip, deciding to focus on the concrete facts. Helga understands, but keeps her ears open, just in case.

 

-

Time goes by.

Life goes on.

-

Weeks later, a new rumour starts stirring in Hogwarts. A young woman has been seen, passing through the mountains in her bare feet, cradling the body of a man dressed as royalty. Unlike the others, this one is more consistent, with only some deviations.

 

Eventually, someone is requested to go and investigate. It comes as a surprise to few when Rowena and Helga volunteer.

-

They find her near the sea. They have spent a long time apparating, and eventually settled upon a spot to stay the night. It is getting dark and the wind is howling in the trees. Rowena closes her eyes and listens to the sound of Helga’s breathing. She can’t help but find it anything other than relaxing.

 

It is Helga who catches sight of them first. She wakes Rowena. Squinting through the dark, she can only just make out the shape of a woman with long, brown hair, cradling the body of a man twice her size to her chest.

 

Morgan does not register their presence until she is close. There is a twitch of a smile at her lips, but she looks tired. “He’s alive,” she says, nodding down to the body of her brother. “I’m going to take him to where he belongs. I’ll make him better.”

 

Rowena remembers the final few chapters of Vita Merlini. “I know you will,” she says.

 

Morgan does not stay long; she still has her role to fulfil. They say a quiet farewell, and stay behind to watch her go. There is no sadness this time, only an acceptance of what has been, and what there still is to be done.

 

Rowena leans in against Helga, lets her headrest against her shoulder. She can hear Helga’s heartbeat, and it makes her feel calm. Reassured. They no longer need to worry about having done the right thing, for even if one is destined for something, choice is still involved. It fills her with hope, knowing that no ones path is completely set in stone.


End file.
